I feel there must be a big boot behind this somewhere. Top nobs from the BBC are being hauled up before the government to 'discuss' the deal. I think the petition may have actually achieved something. The weight of public opinion may have had some effect. I'm amazed, but these are tough times I guess and Murdoch is a bit on the back foot, what with the confirmation that his UK operations are run by sleazebags and criminals.

Should have been 12 wins except vettel stuffed up
Japan 2007- vettel runs into back of webber during SC ...WTF
Turkey 2010- vettel decides to drive into webber
Malaysia 2013- vettel decides he is just too awesome for team rules
I am a proud Mark Webber Fan
I am also proud that we won the war
I am also a Carlton supporter
I think, therfore i am!

Freeview has always had some channels you can get for a few quid extra. The basic platform is free but you can get a top up card or some such. Never used one but I guess you need a box which can take a card.

Pity this isn't going to be on Freesat as well as I've already got a box with a card slot in it.

Sky Sports is to launch a dedicated channel for its new in-depth Formula 1 coverage, taking viewers under the skin of the sport.
Starting in March 2012, Sky Sports F1 HD will get Sky customers closer than ever, with more action, analysis and information - on their TV, online and mobile devices - throughout the season.

This new home of Formula 1 will be the only place to enjoy live coverage of the whole Grand Prix season, including all practice and qualifying sessions and every race in the calendar.

From its launch, Sky Sports F1 HD will give viewers:

EVERY RACE LIVE: From March to November, every moment of each race will be live in HD, without the interruption of adverts.

LIVE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING: Every practice and qualifying session for each Grand Prix will be shown live on one channel, Sky Sports F1 HD.

THE FULL SEASON IN-DEPTH: Over nine months, viewers will have a wealth of programmes with in-depth interviews, archive action and weekly magazine shows.

EXTRA LIVE CONTENT: Through Sky's interactive service, fans can follow the action through on-board cameras, go behind the scenes with the teams in the pits, and follow race data, to take them further inside the sport.

The dedicated channel will be provided at no extra charge to all Sky TV customers who take both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 or the HD pack of channels. It will be found at 408 in Sky's on-screen guide, after a scheduled move of the Sky Sports channels. Sky Sports viewers without the Sky+ HD pack will receive a standard definition version.

Sky Sports F1 HD viewers can also follow the action wherever they are with all live coverage on Sky Go, through online, mobile or tablet devices, at no extra charge.

SKY SPORTS F1 HD
Launches March 2012
Click here for more info
Announcing the new channel, Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: "Formula 1 followers are hungry for more and we want to give them the ultimate experience. It's not just every minute of every race but a channel devoted to Formula 1.

"We can now tell the whole story of the season, from every Grand Prix, from start to finish. Formula 1 will get the full Sky Sports treatment. We have big plans for live shows and a rich line-up of Formula 1 programmes; getting to the drivers, exploring the technology and lapping up the drama.

"With a dedicated channel for Formula 1 we can also give all sports fans the depth and breadth of sports they demand every weekend, right through the year."

Jeremy Darroch, Sky's Chief Executive, added: "This brand new channel again proves Sky's commitment to investing in the best content for customers. It will give even more value to Sky customers and create another reason for others to consider pay TV.

"This is another example of the value we are creating for customers through our content leadership. It follows the recent launch of other high-quality new channels like Sky Atlantic and Sky 3D as well as our growing commitment to UK original content in areas such as drama, comedy and the arts."

Looks like this is only going to be available to people with some kind of Sky sub. I guess I'm stuck with highlights then or I can get another dish and get RTL coverage (with ad breaks I think) and have to link up with Radio 5 for audio. I think I'll just watch the highlights package and may lose interest. 5.30pm is a terrible time to put it on too for parents. Why not 8pm or 9pm? I'll just time shift it I guess.

Sky has got this stitched right up. Good for them. I hope it's a monumental failure just like the last attempt at getting the British F1 fan to pay for coverage.

Should have been 12 wins except vettel stuffed up
Japan 2007- vettel runs into back of webber during SC ...WTF
Turkey 2010- vettel decides to drive into webber
Malaysia 2013- vettel decides he is just too awesome for team rules
I am a proud Mark Webber Fan
I am also proud that we won the war
I am also a Carlton supporter
I think, therfore i am!

Chris, if you get a seperate sat box and a dish and point it at Astra 1, you can watch the race on RTL. Problem with this is we get James Allen on Radio 5. Highlights with Ben Edwards, or Live with The Gob? Tough call. I guess I will go for the live option. I might try this set up for Aus and see how I get on with it. Not sure if RTL have ads during the race. Anyone know? Can always have some dodgy stream running on the lappy for those times.

Sorry about no link, but I did read ONE will still be showing all races live as usual. Will do some digging for linkies. BBC will still do the whole recording to pull the highlights from and are still selling that coverage to broadcasters outside the UK.

Link
Read this. I was out a bit. ONE buy the world feed from FOM which we have a deal for until 2015. They were buying the audio from BBC which they will have make a decision about for 2012. Either way we're safe for a few years at least. Ten I'm not sure about. I'd imagine business as usual with the same audio as ONE pick up.

On a side note, the link to The F1 slate on that page is quite good for a laugh.

As a sky customer I wait till the channel goes live on march 9th. They did wonders with the football coverage so f1 should be second to none! I'm hoping the deal will involve previous season replays to fill the quiet times.

Should have been 12 wins except vettel stuffed up
Japan 2007- vettel runs into back of webber during SC ...WTF
Turkey 2010- vettel decides to drive into webber
Malaysia 2013- vettel decides he is just too awesome for team rules
I am a proud Mark Webber Fan
I am also proud that we won the war
I am also a Carlton supporter
I think, therfore i am!

I've just ordered a second sat dish off ebay for £15. Will rig this up to a spare Foxsat I have lying about and tune it to Astra 1. I'm going to go for Aus with RTL and Radio 5. just to see what it's like.

Should have been 12 wins except vettel stuffed up
Japan 2007- vettel runs into back of webber during SC ...WTF
Turkey 2010- vettel decides to drive into webber
Malaysia 2013- vettel decides he is just too awesome for team rules
I am a proud Mark Webber Fan
I am also proud that we won the war
I am also a Carlton supporter
I think, therfore i am!

Have to say with the Sky F1 Channel launching here in a few hours, the schedule does look promising. A fair bit of repeated content as you would expect from a dedicated channel, but the 1989 / 1989 / 1990 Season reviews, F1 Legends, testing coverage and Launch reviews should all be worth a watch.

Tonight

8:00pm
The F1 Show
Georgie Thompson and Ted Kravitz are joined by guests to present the latest Formula One news, highlights and previews

10:00pm
F1 Legends
Emerson Fittipaldi A profile of Emerson Fittipaldi, the Brazilian driver who won the Formula One championship in 1972 and 1974, before moving on to CART racing in the USA

11:00pm
The F1 Show
Georgie Thompson and Ted Kravitz are joined by guests to present the latest Formula One news, highlights and previews

Saturday

10:00am
The F1 Show
Georgie Thompson and Ted Kravitz are joined by guests to present the latest Formula One news, highlights and previews

12:00pm
Formula One Season Review 1988
A look back at the 1988 season, which saw McLaren drivers and bitter rivals Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost battling it out for glory

1:15pm
The F1 Show
Georgie Thompson and Ted Kravitz are joined by guests to present the latest Formula One news, highlights and previews

3:15pm
F1 Legends
Emerson Fittipaldi Steve Rider interviews Emerson Fittipaldi, the Brazilian driver who won the Formula One championship in 1972 and 1974, before moving on to CART racing in the USA

3:45pm
Formula One Winter Testing
Jerez Highlights of the testing session in Jerez, Spain, where the drivers began their preparations for the new season

4:00pm
Formula One Season Review 1989
1989 A look back at the 1989 season, when McLaren duo Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were once again challenging for glory
Category Formula One
Comment on Formula One Season Review
Rating
5

5:15pm
Formula One Winter Testing
Barcelona Highlights of the second testing session in Barcelona, where the drivers continued their preparations for the new season

5:30pm
F1 Legends
Emerson Fittipaldi Steve Rider interviews Emerson Fittipaldi, the Brazilian driver who won the Formula One championship in 1972 and 1974, before moving on to CART racing in the USA

6:00pm
Special Report
F1 A look ahead to the new Formula One season, which gets under way with the Australian Grand Prix

6:30pm
F1 Car Unveiling 2012
Lotus The new Lotus design

6:55pm
F1 Like Never Before
A look at Sky's Formula One coverage

7:00pm
Time of Our Lives
Grand Prix Greats Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Murray Walker look back at some of the British success stories in Formula One from the 1990s. Presented by Gary Newbon
Category General Sports
(Subtitles) (Audio Described)
Comment on Time of Our Lives
Rating
8.5

8:00pm
Formula One Season Review
2011 Part One A look back at the opening weeks of the 2011 campaign, which got under way with the Australian Grand Prix in March

9:15pm
Formula One Season Review
2011 Part Two A look back at the 2011 campaign, which started with Sebastian Vettel aiming to successfully defend his title

11:15pm
Special Report
F1 A look ahead to the new Formula One season, which gets under way with the Australian Grand Prix

11:45pm
Formula One Winter Testing
Barcelona Highlights of the second testing session in Barcelona, where the drivers continued their preparations for the new season

Sunday

12:00pm
Formula One Season Review 1990
A look back at the 1990 season, when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were once again challenging for glory

1:15pm
F1 Car Unveiling 2012
Force India A look at the new Force India design for the forthcoming season, which will be driven by Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg

1:30pm
F1 Legends
Emerson Fittipaldi Steve Rider interviews Emerson Fittipaldi, the Brazilian driver who won the Formula One championship in 1972 and 1974, before moving on to CART racing in the USA

2:00pm
The F1 Show
Georgie Thompson and Ted Kravitz are joined by guests to present the latest Formula One news, highlights and previews

4:00pm
Formula One Season Review
1991 A look back at the 1991 season, which saw McLaren and Williams as the dominant teams
Category Formula One
Comment on Formula One Season Review
Rating
5

5:15pm
F1 Car Unveiling 2012
McLaren A look at the new McLaren design for the forthcoming season, which will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button
Category Formula One
Comment on F1 Car Unveiling 2012
Not Yet Rated

is it me as i imagined watching those shows, but is it possible too much of a good thing could be a bad thing?

Mark WEBBER 9 hit wonder :-)

Should have been 12 wins except vettel stuffed up
Japan 2007- vettel runs into back of webber during SC ...WTF
Turkey 2010- vettel decides to drive into webber
Malaysia 2013- vettel decides he is just too awesome for team rules
I am a proud Mark Webber Fan
I am also proud that we won the war
I am also a Carlton supporter
I think, therfore i am!

Watched a bit of Sky F1 and it looks OK but I wonder whether a whole channel is just too much. There are plenty of season reviews etc. but how long before they struggle to find anything interesting and fresh to put on?

Bit like Sky Movies really. Seems great at the start but then you start to see the same movies again and again and again and again.

My second sat dish turned up today, bought on ebay for £14.99 free p+p and it's going up tomorrow under the existing one. I've got a spare Foxsat basic sat receiver and will tune this to Astra 1 to pick up RTL. I've tried this with my main dish and Samsung Sat dish and it works fine but this is back on Astra 2 for Freesat.

So, I have proper video but with ad breaks. Second plan is to stream the Sky feed so I have Brundle and co for commentary and hopefully video on the laptop for the ad breaks. I will also have a digi radio handy tuned to Five 5 as audio backup should the stream fail and I'll just have to put up with James 'The Gob' Allen for commentary.

So really, RTL and R5 Live but I'm hoping I can stream Brundle and Crofty for commentary and also watch this during the ads.

Chris, I'm thinking all these feeds may go dark 2 minutes before lights out in Melbourne. I wouldn't put that past Murdoch at all. That's my fear. He should be happy that people are continuing his great thieving and hacking tradition. Also, my ADSL is a bit slow so I get variable results with video streaming etc.

Chances of radio audio and stream / RTL matching up are pretty slim in my experience. Not too bad if the audio is a couple of seconds or so behind the video, but really annoying the other way around. I hate having pole position declared as the last driver exits the final corner rather than as he crosses the line.

Should have been 12 wins except vettel stuffed up
Japan 2007- vettel runs into back of webber during SC ...WTF
Turkey 2010- vettel decides to drive into webber
Malaysia 2013- vettel decides he is just too awesome for team rules
I am a proud Mark Webber Fan
I am also proud that we won the war
I am also a Carlton supporter
I think, therfore i am!

Ozzy
The streams have really good people on and will advise what to do, normally just refreshing your browser/reload site. I plan to have four working to ensure feed.
Milo has found http://www.firstrowsports.eu/
This also plans to show and manages football well.

I will feed back what works well after the qualifying, I will not be up tonight for the practices.

Bookmark as many feeds as possible is my advice, Spanish is the perfect backup and legal. They will also show practices.

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